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PHILADELPHIA INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION, 
1876. 
FRENCH SECTION. 



REPORT 



ON 



CARRIAGES, HARNESS, AND CARRIAGE MATERIALS, 

BY 

M. G U I ET. 

Member of the International Jury, Knight of the Legion of Honor, etc. 



Cf1 



Translated from the original French Report, 

By L. BOUVIER, 

Private Secretary for Mr. GuiET during the Centennial 



^ 



NEW-YORK : 
HUB PUBLISHING COMPANY, 323 PEARL-STREET, 

1377. 



1 



Entered, according; to Act of Congress, in the year 1877, by 

The Hub Publishing Company, 

at the Office of the Librarian, at Washing-ton. 



Additional copies of this pamphlet may be obtained (price 
25 cents each), by addressing 

L. BOUVIER, 

P. O. Box 1778, 

New-York. 



CARRIAGE, HARNESS, AND CARRIAGE MATERIALS. 



I. 

The judges on the Carriage Group examined 290 exhibits, 92 of 
which were those of foreign countries. 

The total number of medals awarded is 159, of which 107 were to 
American manufacturers, and 52 to foreigners of various nationalities. 
Ten diplomas, without medals, were, in addition, granted to foreign 
public establishments and corporations whose exhibits were not ad- 
mitted to competition. 

The number of awards granted to foreign exhibitors, as compared 
with those of American exhibitors, may, at first sight, appear somewhat 
out of proportion to the total number of their exhibits. But this is 
readily explained by the obvious fact (and we shall again refer to this 
hereafter) that foreign nations, owing to the heavy sacrifices made 
necessary by such a distant exhibition, only sent the elite of their 
manufacturers, whereas the American manufacturers being on the 
spot, or at least but a short distance off, and having comparatively 
light expenses to bear, exhibited in great numbers, without always 
exercising a sufficiently strict selection. But, whether exhibited by 
foreigners or by Americans, the products of every class and nature 
which we examined were found most remarkable in their average 
quality, and whoever has for the past few years followed with interest 
the development of this branch of industry (carriages, harness and 
their accessories) can not fail to be struck with the extraordinary 
progress realized during the last quarter of a century, more particu- 
larly, perhaps, in the United States. Pleasure carriages of every 
style, and well adapted to the various uses to which they are intended, 
reveal in their general appearance a symmetry, an elegance of form, a 
harmony of lines, and a finish and taste in the painting and trimming, 
which would hardly have been dreamed of a few years since. 

Among the leading causes of this improvement, we must first of all 
mention the division of labor which now prevails in the manufacture 
of the various component parts of a carriage. Axles, springs, clips, 
bolts and all other iron parts, which every carriage-builder was for- 



merly compelled to manufacture for himself, with such means as he 
had at his command, are now produced in large quantities in special 
establishments, with a remarkable degree of perfection, and at prices 
much below the former ones. Notable improvements have also been 
realized in the manufacture of wheels, hubs, spokes, felloes and bent 
woods of all kinds. Rims made of two pieces of bent wood have, 
almost everywhere in the United States, taken the place of the old- 
fashioned felloes in short sections, and this improvement is daily 
tending to become more general abroad, especially in France and 
England. 

Owing to a more judicious selection of different kinds of wood for 
various uses, and the general substitution, in the United States at 
least, of hickory (a species of American walnut) for ash and oak in the 
manufacture of spokes and felloes, greater lightness, both real and 
apparent, has been obtained, without in any manner sacrificing 
strength and solidity. The use of hickory is beginning to make its 
way into France and England ; it is a most valuable wood when of 
good quality, properly selected, and above all, when felled in the right 
season ; but when it does not fulfill all these conditions, it is unques- 
tionably much inferior to our good French locust. Carriage-building 
has also derived much benefit from the improvements in the manu- 
facture of patent and enameled leather, articles which it consumes in 
large quantities, and which contribute in a great measure to the embel- 
lishment of carriages. These general remarks may also apply to the 
manufacture of harness and saddlery. Harness-makers have at their 
command, nowadays, new mechanical processes for preparing, cutting, 
and ornamenting leather ; they can easily procure, at comparatively 
low figures, mountings and trimmings, in brass or plated, in steel or 
aluminium, and of every possible style and model. These conveniences 
enable them to produce, without any material increase of price, hand- 
somer and more artistic articles than they formerly manufactured. 
The same causes have also contributed to improve the manufacture 
of saddles, of which the various specimens we were called upon to 
examine seemed to us remarkably well adapted to the various uses 
and the various countries for which they were intended. 

Wagons, trucks, and carts for the transportation of freight and 
merchandise of all sorts have participated, mainly in the United States, 
in the general improvement, and to a degree more considerable, 
perhaps, than any other branch of industry. Thus, to mention but 
one instance, there is in the West one establishment which we visited, 
and which turns out, on an average, one wagon for every ten minutes 
of working time throughout the year. This establishment employs 
600 workmen and 400 horse power ; it sells to the amount of over one 
and a half million dollars a year, and at such low prices, that it is 
necessary to see the facilities they have in order to understand how 
such results can be reached. 



Carriages for the use of children are now produced in extraordinary 
variety, and are remarkable for the ingenuity of their details, and the 
taste manifested in the painting, trimming and finishing ; they are 
generally constructed with a perfect understanding of the comfort and 
well-being of the children for whom they are intended. Finally, and 
in order to omit nothing that relates in any manner to carriage- 
building, we must say that coach varnishes, for which the United 
States was lately, and France still is, tributary to England, are now 
made in the United States with perfect success. American varnishes are 
of such superior quality, that they can easily compete with the English 
articles, if they do not even surpass them. Many carriages at the 
Exhibition, which were finished with American varnishes, gave ample 
evidence of their excellent qualities. 

We have endeavored to briefly recapitulate such facts as seemed to 
us best calculated to show the vast improvements realized in the 
manufacture of the various articles submitted to our examination, and 
in conclusion, we express our sincere conviction that this branch of 
industry has in the United States fully kept up with the general pro- 
gress of the country. What we saw struck us the more because we had 
not visited that country for some eight years, and this transformation 
does not date back further than ten years. Scarcely any one in the 
United States would have ventured a few years ago upon the construc- 
tion of a double-suspension carriage, and now European carriages of 
every style are manufactured there with complete success, and we are 
compelled to state, reluctantly though it be, that, while certain indi- 
vidual French carriage-building houses are still ahead of their rivals in 
the United States, the average American standard is already superior 
as to quality and all other respects to the average French manufactures. 
The Exhibition afforded American carriage-builders an opportunity for 
comparing their own products first with each other, and then with 
those of foreign countries ; this can not fail to prepare the way for 
further and still greater improvements, and it would be well for us to 
take this fact into serious consideration. The United States control 
markets upon which we could now only with great difficulty make our 
way ; to-morrow we may perhaps meet them on our own ground. 

II. 

With the view of facilitating their labors, the judges divided the 
exhibits which made up the carriage group into seven classes, to wit : 

i. Carriages. 

2. Saddlery, Harness, etc. 

3. Velocipedes, Children's Carriages, etc. 

4. Carriage Hardware. 

5. Carriage Woodwork. 

6. Wagons, Carts, etc. 

7. Coach Varnishes. 



We will now review these various classes, calling attention, in the 
order of their merit, to all the French exhibitors who obtained 
awards, and mentioning American or other foreign exhibitors only 
when their articles possess exceptional or original qualities. 

i. Carriages. 

The industry of carriage-building proper was represented at the 

Exhibition by 253 vehicles, exhibited by 86 manufacturers, and divided 

as follows as to nationality : 

United States 159 carriages and 53 manufacturers. 

England 36 carriages and 7 manufacturers. 

France 30 carriages and 5 manufacturers. 

British Colonies 14 carriages and 10 manufacturers. 

feaTSy.^ner J H carriages and „ manufacturer. 

While the French exhibit ranked only third as to the number of 
carriages exhibited, we can affirm without hesitation that the variety, 
elegance and perfection of the articles exhibited fairly entitled it to 
the first place. Here we may as well remark that at the Vienna Exhi- 
bition of 1873, the number of French carriages was still less, being 
only 21, exhibited by 6 manufacturers, and such, we fear, must always 
be the case in every foreign and somewhat distant exhibition ; for an 
exhibit of carriages abroad entails upon those who participate in it 
heavy expenses, of which but little idea can be formed in other branches 
of industry, save, perhaps, in that of machinery. It may be said that 
these expenses are never covered by the amount of business done in 
the course of the exhibition. Such a result was still less to be 
expected in Philadelphia, owing to the commercial and financial crisis 
which had pravailed in the United States for the past three years. 
Manufacturers are not always willing to assume such heavy expenses, 
and those who are willing sire not always able. Carriages can not, 
like many other articles, be left to themselves in the midst of an 
exhibition ; they require daily attention, and almost unceasing care. 
Thus, the French exhibitors, each of whom exhibited not less than six 
or seven carriages, voluntarily and in advance assumed, in the way of 
freight (both ways), packing and repacking, insurance and salaries, a 
total expense which can not be estimated at less than 30,000 francs for 
each of them. We do not include in this figure the traveling expenses 
of the heads of houses who very naturally felt the desire of visiting an 
exhibition in which they were taking part, to compare their own 
products with those of other countries. We should therefore feel 
grateful to the French carriage-builders who thus, without any chance 
of immediate appreciable results, and purely through a spirit of 
patriotism, undertook at such a large expense to make a creditable 
display of their industry in the great American manifestation. The 
object they had in view has been fully accomplished ; the carriage- 
building industry of France was well represented at Philadelphia, and 



took its place in the first rank, as is evidenced by the number of 
medals obtained ; and if all the exhibitors are not called upon to reap 
at once the fruit of their efforts, they have at least contributed to keep 
up the good reputation of this eminently French industry, and 
prepared the way, at least we hope so, for further and more important 
business in the future. 

Thirty-eight awards were granted for carriages and sleighs, seventeen 
of which were- to foreign nations ; and, of this number, France, with 
five exhibitors (one of whom was not in competition), receives three 
awards. 

It is perhaps not our place to criticise the system of awards adopted 
at the Exhibition. The difference between the various exhibitors is 
shown only by the more or less flattering wording of the report stating 
the motives with which the judges thought proper to grant them an 
award ; but, as we have already said, we shall try and retain, in the 
rapid review we are about to make, the rank attributed to each 
exhibitor. 

FRANCE. 

Messrs. Binder Bros., of Paris, exhibited a break, a coupe, an 8-spring 
sociable, a victoria-milord, an 8-spring barouche, and a D'Orsay or 8-spring 
coupe. These carriages were of excellent workmanship, elegant lines and care- 
fnlly constructed ; the painting and trimming in very good taste. We notice 
more specially a comfortable and well designed break, and an elegant 8-spring 
barouche. 

Mr. Muhlbacher, of Paris, exhibited a D'Orsay, an 8-spring victoria-milord, 
an 8-spring sociable (or vis-a-vis), a sociable with double top, a coupe, and a 
victoria. These carriages are of good workmanship and style. Our attention 
has been more particularly called to a handsome 8-spring vis-a-vis, and to the 
double top vis-a-vis, a new idea. 

Mr. Desouches, of Paris, exhibited a D'Orsay, an 8-spring vis-a-vis, a top 
phaeton, a coupe, a landau, a victoria-duc, and victoria-milord. In this well 
assorted exhibit, we noticed especially the top phaeton, being elegant and well 
finished ; and a light coupe of good shape, provided with an indicator to 
communicate with the driver. 

Messrs. Million, Guiet & Co., of Paris, who were not in competition (Mr. 
Guiet having been appointed on the International Jury), exhibited a mail-coach 
(or drag), a five-glass landau, an 8-spring landau, a coupe, an 8-spring vis-a-vis, 
an 8-spring victoria-duc, and a victoria-milord. 

ENGLAND AND ENGLISH COLONIES. 

Hooper & Co., of London, exhibited six carriages, among which we may 
mention an 8-spring barouche remarkable for the elegance of its lines, and a 
mail-coach, very well built, of good shape, with all the usual conveniences, 
and provided besides with a movable tent for shelter against the sun. 

C. Thorn, of Norwich, exhibited 8 carriages. We notice a large 2-wheel 
hunting cart, well designed, and a well-built and ingeniously arranged break. 

Thos. Peters & Sons, of London, exhibited nine carriages of good average 
construction, among which were a victoria, perfect in taste and shape, and two 
mail-coaches, strongly built and with every convenience. 



Stevenson & Elliott, of Melbourne (Australia), exhibited an 8-spring landau 
noticeable for the construction of both its body and gear, and of excellent style. 
It is perhaps the first time that a carriage-builder has come from such a distant 
land to take part with such signal success in one of our great industrial battles. 

John M. DeWolfe, of Halifax (Nova Scotia), exhibited three light vehicles, 
the finish and workmanship of which are the more remarkable for the reason 
that the resources of the city where he resides are quite limited in all that con- 
cerns carriage-building. 

Bruno Lepoux, of Montreal (Canada), exhibited a landaulet ; and a seven- 
passenger sleigh, the center seat of which may be removed and stored under the 
front seat, thus reducing its capacity to 5 persons ; this sleigh is ingeniously 
contrived and well built. 

RUSSIA. 

Chas. Nellis, of St. Petersburg, exhibited an 8-spring victoria, well finished, 
very elegant and strong, and thoroughly adapted to the requirements of his 
country. 

Nicholas Arbatzky, of Moscow, exhibited a racing droshky, and a sleigh 
provided with fur robe, light, well built, and with every desirable quality. 

UNITED STATES. 

W. D. Rogers & Co., Philadelphia, exhibited six carriages, all of superior 
workmanship and well finished ; we notice among others a light four-wheel top 
buggy, for one person, weighing only 139 pounds, uniting the most perfect finish 
and best proportions with extreme strength ; also, a vis-a-vis of excellent con- 
struction, good style, and perfect taste as to painting and trimming. 

Wood Bros., New-York, exhibited seven carriages of good workmanship and 
well finished ; we must mention a victoria of good shape and proportions, 
carefully painted and trimmed, and a coupe "in the white" giving an opportunity 
to appreciate the perfection of the wood and ironwork. 

J. B. Brewster & Co., New-York, exhibited seven conscientiously built 
carriages ; we must mention more particularly a round-front landaulet of good 
style, well finished, opening and closing with ease, the two front glasses sliding 
under the driver's-seat. 

H. Killam & Co., New-Haven (Conn.), exhibited five carriages of good 
regular workmanship, the most remarkable of which is a glass-front landau with a 
new system of suspension, consisting of two springs set crosswise over the elliptic 
springs behind, which gives greater ease. 

Brewster & Co., of Broome-st., New- York, were not in competition, Mr. 
Chas. P. Kimball, connected with this house, being a member of the United 
States Centennial Commission. They exhibited seven carriages and three sleighs, 
which place them in the very front rank of the American section, side by side 
with W. D. Rogers & Co. We must mention an 8-spring victoria, new in form, 
with driver's-seat raised on boot, rumble behind, of very correct style, perfect 
execution in all its construction, and the painting and trimming of exquisite 
taste ; also a square-shaped landau, admirable in form, of irreproachable taste 
and finish ; a light four-wheel top buggy for one person, very correct in lines, of 
perfect workmanship and finish, weighing only 132 lbs. We must also mention a 
Canadian sleigh, and two sleighs known under the name of Kimball-Brewster 
sleighs, each of which in its style is a model of perfection. 



2. Saddlery, Harness, etc. 

In this class there were 86 exhibitors, of whom 2 were French ; and 
54 awards, of which 25 were to foreigners. Only one French exhibitor 
was in competion. 

Fortin Freres, of Paris, who obtained a medal for their handsome exhibit 
of felts and feltings for saddlers, harness and shoe-makers. All their articles, 
which are well assorted as to color and quality, are of superior manufacture, and 
well adapted to the various uses for which they are intended. 

Million, Guiet & Co., who were not in competition, for the reason already 
stated, exhibited a show-case full of harness of various styles and models. 

In the American department and among the other foreign depart- 
ments, we note the following : 

Jas. R. Hill & Co., of Concord (New-Hampshire), exhibited a complete 
assortment of harness, ranging from the finest down to the most ordinary, from 
the lightest to the heaviest, and of excellent workmanship, at moderate prices, 
and possessing every quality required for their various uses. This remarkable 
exhibit affords the means of perceiving at a glance the many improvements 
realized in the United States in this branch of industry. 

H. G. Haedrich & Son, of Philadelphia, exhibited a pair of grand coach 
harness of the value of $5,000, of very handsome workmanship, the gold-plated 
mountings being most artistically chased. The whole job represents about as fine 
a piece of work of the kind as it is possible to produce. 

R. F. Wilson, Milton (Pa.), exhibited a fly-net made of fine leather strips ; this 
is a new article, very light, ingenious and well suited to the purpose. 

J. V. Waldron & Co., New-York, exhibited a handsome assortment of 
harness mountings of all kinds, and monograms and heraldic emblems of fine 
design and good workmanship. 

Andrew Albright & Co., of Newark (N. J.), exhibited hard-rubber covered 
harness trimmings and mountings. This use and application of India rubber is 
absolutely new, and the articles thus produced are at the same time of superior 
quality, handsome, and durable. 

Crane & Co., Newark (N. J.), have a fine exhibit of saddlery hardware; we 
note a new flexible rubber covered bit, very valuable for horses with tender 
mouths. 

Swayne & Adeney, London (England), exhibited a rich collection of riding 
and driving whips of all kinds, perfect in workmanship, taste and elegance ; 
undoubtedly the finest exhibit in this line. 

Hawkins Bros., Walsall (England): a remarkable exhibit of saddlery hard- 
ware, admirable as a whole as well as in all its details ; there is a great variety of 
models, and the articles are generally very artistically executed. 

Shiskin, of Moscow (Russia), and Elenin of the same city, exhibited magnifi- 
cent droshky and troika harness, remarkable for their lightness, good workman- 
ship, and the good taste of their trimmings. 

P. Koorikoff, of St. Petersburg (Russia), exhibited a number of harnesses for 
artillery and army wagons, all very strong and well made ; also, Cossack saddles 
of excellent workmanship and well adapted to that country. 

A. Luis D'Almeida, of St. Paul (Brazil), and F. Gomez dos Santos Lima of 
the same place, exhibited saddles and bridles of the kind used in that country, 
and of superior workmanship in every respect. 



3. Velocipedes, Children's Carriages, etc. 

There was but one French exhibitor in this branch, and he obtained an award : 
N. Huret, of Paris, whose Cynophore or dog velocipede, of a light and 
elegant contruction and well adapted to the object intended, forms one of the 
most novel and most curious articles we have seen at the Exhibition. 

In the American department and in other foreign sections, we notice 
the following : 

Chas. Thomson, of London (England), a handsome 3-wheel child's carriage 
or perambulator, very comfortable and highly finished in every particular, and 
without doubt the most graceful and best finished article of the kind we have 
seen at the Exhibition. 

F. Hermann Jury, of New-York, exhibited children's carriages very ingen- 
iously contrived, and folding up so as to be carried by hand like a valise or other 
piece of light baggage. 

Geo. P. Steinbach, of Baltimore (Md.), and the Newgeon & Sheldon Co., 
of Birmingham (Ct.), exhibited some children's carriages called sleeping coaches, 
very ingeniously arranged, so as to be easily and rapidly converted into cradles ; 
they fulfill admirably the double purpose for which they are intended. 

4. Carriage Hardware. 

C Anthoni, of Paris, exhibited patent axles of good workmanship, and 
springs provided with rubber bobbins for the purpose of obtaining greater ease, 
and to decrease the noise of the springs. This really very practicable improve- 
ment will, we think, prove very useful hereafter, and it was much appreciated by 
the American carriage-builders. 

White Manufacturing Co., of Bridgeport (Ct.), exhibited a large and hand- 
some assortment of lamps, handles and other metal articles for carriages. We 
note especially a new lantern, fastening to the dasher, very ingenious, and well 
adapted to night hunting or fishing. 

Welsh & Lea, of Philadelphia, exhibited a full assortment of bolts of all 
sizes and shapes, as good articles of the kind as can possibly be made. 

M. Seward & Son, New-Haven (Ct.), exhibited a fine collection of clips and 
other light articles of carriage hardware, of every pattern and style, admirably 
made, and at very moderate prices. 

Benezet & Co. , Philadelphia, had a fine exhibit of C and elliptic springs, of 
good shapes and superior finish. 

Dick & Kirschten, Offenbach-on-the-Main (Germany), had a handsome and 
very large exhibit of springs and axles of excellent workmanship. 

Shitoff, of Moscow (Russia), exhibited elliptic springs, well made and of good 
proportions ; also an excellent apparatus for testing springs. 

5. Carriage Woodwork. 

Hoopes, Bro. & Darlington, West-Chester (Pa.), and the New-Haven 
Wheel Company, New-Haven (Ct.), each had large and handsome exhibits of 
spokes, rims, hubs and wheels, of all sizes. Both as to workmanship and 
material, these articles were as fine as can be produced in this line. 

Samuel G. Reed, Wellesley (Mass.), exhibited a very ingenious apparatus for 
heating tires rapidly, evenly, and a,t a very small expense, by means of gas-jets. 



6. Wagons, Carts, etc. 

The Studebaker Brothers Manufacturing Co., of South-Bend (Ind.), 
exhibited in all fourteen wagons, intended for purposes of agriculture and the 
transportation of merchandise of all kinds ; all strongly built and thoroughly 
adapted to the purposes for which they are intended. This is one of the best 
and most useful exhibits we have seen. These vehicles are offered at such 
low prices, that it is evident the company must command special facilities by 
means of which they are able to effect a material saving in the cost of man- 
ufacture. 

The Abbot-Downing Co., Concord (N. H.), exhibited two American stages. 
These carriages have no springs whatever; the body is simply hung by means 
of leather loops made fast to four iron brackets ; the wheels, and the fore- 
wheels particularly, are very high, which facilitates traction, and fits them for 
the worst roads. These are made to carry, besides the passengers, a considerable 
weight of baggage. We only mention these vehicles as curiosities, and because 
they have long been in use in the United States ; but we feel compelled to add 
that they are very inferior to our old French diligences. 

Chas. Rauch, Cleveland (Ohio), exhibited an ice-wagon weighing 2,500 lbs., 
made to carry three tons of ice. This wagon is large, strong, and practical, and 
well constructed to facilitate the loading and unloading. The front wheels turn 
clear under, and the wagon is provided behind with an apparatus for weighing. 
This vehicle constitutes a material improvement on all those heretofore used for 
the purpose. 

Philip Ketterer, New- York, exhibited an elegant wagon for the trans- 
portation of light packages ; it is closed, all around and above the body, by means 
of a light railing of galvanized iron, very artistically executed. It is also quite 
remarkable for its lightness. 

Joseph Kieser, New- York, exhibited an immense four-horse wagon for 
brewers' use, capable of carrying two hundred kegs of beer ; it is the grandest 
affair of the kind that we have seen. This wagon is very perfectly built, very 
complete, and provided with every possible convenience. 

John Beggs & Son, Philadelphia, exhibited trucks specially adapted for the 
transportation of iron safes. They are strongly and admirably built, and are 
provided with gearing for the purpose of loading and unloading, and, if need be, 
of lifting to the upper stories those fire-proof safes which are generally very 
heavy in the United States. 

7. Coach Varnishes. 

Valentine & Co., of New-York, had a complete exhibit of varnishes for 
carriage-builders' purposes. These varnishes unite every desirable quality in the 
way of brilliancy, fullness, and hardness, as we were able to judge by the admir- 
able manner in which the carriages of the leading manufacturers of the United 
States, which we know to have been finished with these varnishes, behaved during 
the whole course of the Exhibition, and under a tropical heat. 

We deem it indispensable, before closing this part of our report, to 
call attention to the fact that, in stating the number of awards granted, 
we have referred exclusively to those of the International Jury, as 
they were sealed and delivered to the Chief of the Bureau of Awards 
before the dispersion of the judges. These figures will probably not 



agree with those which will be published by the Centennial Com- 
mission, on account of the interference of a Jury of Appeal created 
after the distribution of the awards, for the purpose of increasing the 
number of medals. 

We will not comment here upon the strange and, we think, unpre- 
cedented fact of the formation of a jury called upon to judge anew and 
modify the verdict of the International Jury. 

III. 

We would hardly consider that we had completely fulfilled the 
task intrusted to us had we merely confined ourselves to the examina- 
tion of the products of our industry displayed at the Exhibition, and 
had we not endeavored to visit a few of the most important factories in 
the country in order to study their organization, and to penetrate 
into the very causes to which is due the progress with which we 
have been so forcibly struck. We do not therefore think that we are 
exceeding our limits in giving here a brief account of our visits to five 
or six of the leading establishments of the United States, both in 
carriage-building and in the manufacture of carriage goods. 

i. Brewster & Co., (of Broome-street) carriage-builders, corner of Broadway 
and 47th-street, New- York, commenced business in 1856 on Broome-st. They 
abandoned that establishment in 1873 to take possession of the factory which they 
are now occupying, and of which we will now try to describe the organization 
and economic arrangements. 

The factory is substantially built of brick, stone and iron ; the ceilings are 
high, the windows wide, and every part of the shops is lighted and ventilated in 
the best manner. The upper stories are reached by means of three stairways 
built outside the main walls ; these stairways are made of iron and inclosed by 
brick walls. There are, besides, two large freight elevators, 2.50 x 4.50 meters 
(8 ft. x 15 ft.), each with a lifting capacity of 1800 kilograms, or nearly 2 tons. 
These elevators are built outside and inclosed by brick walls, in the same manner 
as the stairways. The doors leading into both the stairways and elevators are 
made of iron, so as to insure safety in case of fire, and to secure access to 
every floor under all circumstances. The ground occupied by the buildings and 
the inner court, facing one of the leading thoroughfares of the city, has a super- 
ficial area of 2,570 square meters. The five floors, with the basement, represent 
an aggregate superficial area of 9,480 sq. meters. An annex now being erected 
will give an additional area of 3,375 sq. meters, making then a grand total of 
12,855 s q- metres (154,450 sq. ft.). Two steam boilers, of the capacity of 60 H. P. 
each, located in a vault under the sidewalk, supply the steam required for a 60 
H. P. engine, and also for the heating of the establishment, the latter by means of 
a complete and extensive system of pipes, admirably arranged and distributed. 

Everything relating to the iron work is carried on exclusively in the basement, 
where there are facilities for 32 forges and a number of labor-saving machines. 
The first story is used for the repair shop, the storage of finished carriages, etc. 
On the second story are situated the trimming shop, the store-room for trim- 
ming goods, the wheel shop, etc. The third story is occupied by the body shop, 
the drafting room, and the store-rooms for wheels, spokes, hubs and rims. 



13 

On the fourth and fifth floors are found the paint and varnish shops, and the 
store-room for carriages "in the white." The annex, now building, and which 
will be occupied on the first of January, 1877, will be specially devoted to the 
storage of finished carriages. This house has always on hand a large stock of 
carriages ready for delivery, and of the average value of 600,000 to 700,000 francs. 
Four hundred workmen are employed in the establishment, and this number 
may easily be increased to 500. The annual production is of an average value of 
3,500,000 francs; of this amount about one-half is in the light carriages peculiar 
to the United States, the balance being made up of large carriages for city use. 
The quality of the carriages turned out is uniformly good ; sulkies weighing only 
50 pounds are built with as much care as landaus whose price is twenty times as 
great. // is a grand organization of which we can have, in France, no concep- 
tion in this branch of industry. 

2. Wood Brothers, carriage-builders, New-York City, have an establish- 
ment of great importance, though less powerfully organized than the one we 
have just rapidly described. Their factory, situated at Bridgeport (Conn.), fifty 
miles from New- York, is connected with their office and warerooms in the latter 
city by a telegraph line constructed for their exclusive use, by means of which the 
two establishments may be kept in constant communication. 

3. W. D. Rogers & Co., carriage-builders, Philadelphia, have their office 
and repository at Nos. 1009 and ion Chestnut-street, while their factory is 
situated in another part of the city, at the corner of Thirteenth and Parrish- 
streets, the two establishments being connected by a telegraph wire. 

This house, whose more than modest beginning dates back to 1846, a period 
when carriage-building in the United States was, so to speak, still in its infancy, 
and who then employed only ten workmen, has, amid the most varied fortunes, 
gradually risen to the front rank. At the present time, W. D. Rogers & Co. man- 
ufacture on an average three hundred carriages a year, of every style and model ; 
and they employ one hundred and fifty workmen, exclusive of those engaged on 
repair work. Their mechanical facilities are of the most improved and complete 
description. Their aggregate yearly business foots up about 1,250,000 francs, of 
which amount the large sum of 300,000 francs is for repairs alone. 

The products of this house attracted much attention at the Exhibition, and the 
first mention which they obtained among those in competition in the American 
section was justly deserved. 

4. Studebaker Brothers Manufacturing Co., carriage and wagon-builders, 
South-Bend (Ind.). This establishment, founded in 1852, is composed of two dis- 
tinct factories, situated some half mile apart : the carriage factory proper, and 
the manufactory of farm and other wagons. The entire ground space occupied 
is about ten acres. The buildings have a frontage of 550 meters (about 1,780 
feet), and are four stories high. The aggregate superficial area of the various 
stories is about nine acres, to which must be added 11,800 square meters for the 
lumber sheds. 

We append a schedule showing the number of hands employed, the number of 
carriages built, and the aggregate amount of business for each year, from 1868 to 
1875 inclusive, which will show better than mere words the progressive develop- 
ment of this house. 



u 



Year. No. of Vehicles. No. of Workmen. Amount. 

1868 3955 190 Francs, 1,900,000 

1869 5115 220 2,060,000 

1870 6505 260 2,865,000 

1871 6835 285 3,125,000 

1872 6950 325 3,455,000 

1873 10280 455. . .' 4,480,000 

1874 11050 550 5,coo,ooo 

1875 15000 600 6,250,000 



Total 65690 Francs, 29,135,000 

This establishment has therefore manufactured within a space of eight years 
nearly 66,000 vehicles, of the value of nearly thirty millions of francs. It is proper 
to say, however, that in the way of carriages they only build the American 
specialties known under the name of buggy, rockaway, wagon, etc. The com- 
pany employs 400 H. P. of steam, 32 forges, and employs a large number of 
most ingenious time and labor-saving machines. We notice among others, a 
platform for shrinking tires on wheels, made so as to be submerged at will ; a 
machine for turning and boring hubs ; a machine to regulate the length of the 
spokes and shape the tenons, and finally, an excellent mechanical hammer or 
arm for driving spokes. Many of these machines are managed by boys, almost 
children, who receive an average salary of about $3 per week. 

The painting of the wagon wheels is done by dipping them up to the hub in a 
deep trough over 400 yards in length, filled with paint, and running them from 
one end of it to the other. Three coats are applied by this means, after which 
the paint is leveled with the brush. This work is paid for at the rate of f of a 
cent per wheel, and the workmen engaged upon it have to be changed at least 
every three or four months, as their health might otherwise be seriously injured. 
A set of four common wagon wheels, without the tires, costs an average of $5. 
The company is at present negociating with the London Omnibus Co. for the 
delivery of 2,000 sets of wheels, tired and ready for use, at the net price of $50 
gold, delivered in London, freight, duties and all expenses paid. The stock of 
wood and lumber of all sorts kept on hand for the use of the establishment 
exceeds $500,000 in value. 

5. Hoopes, Brother & Darlington, manufacturers of wheels, spokes, rims, 
etc., West-Chester (Pa.). 

This factory is favorably situated just opposite the terminus of the railway lead- 
ing to Philadelphia, and goods may thus be loaded and unloaded directly, in and 
out- of the cars, without any expense of hauling. It covers a space of about 3 
acres, upon which are erected some 9 various buildings, one of which, the wheel 
factory proper, is built of brick and is four stories high. Their stock of wood, 
stored in a vast yard, amounts when full to over a million of pieces. This wood 
is cut within a radius of 300 miles from the city of West-Chester ; the trees must 
be felled between the months of July and January, as wood cut at any other sea- 
son is apt to be attacked by worms. In the state of Ohio, the large trees usually 
yield wood of inferior quality, whereas in Pennslyvania, on the contrary, they 
often furnish wood of the very best description. The tree being felled, the trunk 
is split, the core and bark thrown off so as to make it as light as possible, then cut 
in pieces of various sizes. The result of this preliminary operation is a notable 
saving in the expense of transportation. After remaining exposed to the air 
during a certain specified space of time, the wood is stored in a building heated 
by steam, where it remains a week or ten days, after which it is ready to be turned 



15 

or bent according to the use to which it is to be put. The pieces are then stored 
in vast lofts, in which there are always from 100,000 to 150,000 spokes, with the 
proper porportion of hubs and rims to convert them into wheels. They all 
remain there until they are absolutely seasoned, so that, after being put together, 
there shall be no fear of the slightest shrinkage. 

The house employs from 60 to 70 hands in the factory, and 25 to 30 hands in 
the woods during the cutting season. They have a steam boiler of sufficient 
capacity to supply steam for a 70 H. P. engine, besides the steam necessary for 
heating and other purposes. The spoke and hub turners are paid by the piece, 
but the adjusters are paid by the day. We noted six spoke lathes, each turning 
only one spoke at a time, two hub lathes, and a number of other machines equally 
practical and ingenious, among which we may mention an excellent apparatus 
for bending rims, an ingenious machine for squaring and polishing the wood, and 
a machine for making the tenons. The pieces intended to be bent are, previous 
to that operation, subjected for an hour or two, according to their size, to the 
direct action of steam, the latter being supplied by the exhaust of the engine. 
The spokes are driven by hand according to the old system, and without any 
special novelty. The maximum capacity of the establishment is 30 complete 
sets of wheels a day, 3,000 spokes, and 100 sets of rims, besides a large number 
of shafts, etc., etc. 

6. The New-Haven Wheel Co., wheel manufacturers, New-Haven (Conn.) 
This establishment was founded in 1845 upon a small part of the site it now 
occupies. It began on a very modest scale, but was enlarged in 1853, and again 
in 1875, at which time, the old factory having been entirely destroyed by fire, the 
present one, which we visited, was wholly rebuilt, refitted, and reorganized in a 
little over four months. 

The principal buildings of the company, six in number, are all built of brick, 
from two to three stories high, and cover an aggregate superficial area of about 
7,500 square yards, exclusive of vast sheds for the storing of wood. There are 
used in the factory, for various purposes, nearly 200 labor-saving machines. Each 
piece of wood is handled many times before finding its place in a completed 
wheel ; a single spoke undergoes no less than 15 successive operations. The 
motive power is supplied by a beautiful Harris-Corliss 200 horse-power steam- 
engine, and 3 tubular boilers of 80 horse-power each. The company takes the 
tree standing, and it undergoes in their hands every transformation required to 
convert it into wheels. They employ some 60 wood-choppers, who are continually 
engaged, during six or seven months of the year, cutting hickory logs in the forest. 
The cutting season begins toward the middle of August, and closes on the 1st of 
February, after which the hands are busy for a month or two getting the product 
of their labors to the factory. The company attaches very special importance to 
the choice of the season during which the wood must be cut, and never makes use 
of that which is cut at any other time. In the spring, and at the beginning of 
summer, the trees are green and full of sap, and, consequently, not suitable for 
the manufacture of wheels. At the present time, the works can turn out the 
maximum number of 100 sets (of 4 wheels) a day, with 250 hands. The annual 
product of the factory, when in full activity, is about 3,500,000 francs. This finds 
an outlet not only in the United States, but also in many foreign markets : 
Europe, Australia, South America, Canada, Mexico, and the East and West 
Indies. The Sarven wheels for steam fire-engines, which this establishment has 
been manufacturing for over eighteen years, is one of their specialties, aside from 
which they make all other kinds of wheels for carriages of every style. 



7. M. Seward & Son, manufacturers of carriage hardware, New-Haven (Ct.) 
This factory, which has been established for more than thirty-two years, occupies 
a space of about 3,000 square yards, half of which is built over. It employs thirty 
to thirty-five hands, and sixty machines of various kinds, valued at $40,000, 
exclusive of a thirty horse power steam-engine. Its business amounts to about 
$150,000 a year, and it turns out annually 200,000 dozen clips and 175,000 dozen 
of sundry articles of light carriage hardware. This house is about to increase the 
number of articles it makes. It has heretofore confined itself to a very restricted 
branch of carriage hardware, but it has done so on a really vast scale, and we are 
satisfied that in its specialties the amount of its sales exceeds that of all the 
other manufacturers together. 

IV. 

The few instances we have mentioned will, we think, be sufficient to 
give an idea of the wonderfnl business facilities at the command of 
American manufacturers in the carriage-building trade, and to indicate 
with some degree of precision the peculiar features of that industry. 

It is not always easy to deduce the precise consequences of the most 
carefully studied facts, and to point out the exact limits within which 
we can benefit ourselves by the example of our rivals, or how far we 
should or could appropriate their processes to our own use. Notwith- 
standing the difficulties attending this part of our task, we will not 
attempt to evade them. We will therefore examine the conditions 
under which this branch of industry is carried on, first in our own 
country, and afterwards in the United States. 

In France, carriage-building, which was formerly but a small busi- 
ness, has become, in the hands of a few manufacturers — thanks to the 
increase of the public wealth and the general improvement in the 
manner of living — an industry of considerable magnitude, which de- 
serves for more reasons than one very careful attention. So many 
different trades contribute to the construction of a carriage, that it 
almost seems to contain in itself all the characteristics of the French 
industrial genius. It supplies the merchant marine with its most 
valuable and most desirable freight : bulky freight, of which, unfortu- 
nately, our flag does not derive the benefit in a sufficient proportion. 
A carriage packed for shipment will measure on an average 10 cubic 
meters (about 350 cubic ft.), and some will measure as much as 18 to 20 
meters. 

The total value of pleasure carriages exported from France during 
the past four years has been as follows : 

1872 10,104,819 francs, j 1874 6,743,485 francs. 

1873 8,775,715 francs. | 1875 4,304,866 francs. 

This branch of industry has been materially affected, as well as all 
others, by the general falling off of business in nearly all the foreign 
markets ; but it may be presumed that, at the first revival, we shall 
again reach, and perhaps exceed the export figures of 1872. It may not 
be useless to observe that, wherever the French carriage-building inter- 



17 

est succeeds in gaining a foothold, it draws after it, in addition and as a 
natural consequence, many other articles of French manufacture, such 
as harness, leather, morocco, cloths, silks, carriage laces, and a multi- 
tude of articles of hardware. It is, however, through our own markets 
that we find the greatest outlet for our products. For the greater 
number of French purchasers, a carriage is not merely a vehicle that is 
expected to fulfill certain conditions of strength and convenience, but 
it is also an article of luxury which must unite every desirable condi- 
tion of elegance and good taste. Each customer wishes to have a 
carriage peculiar to himself, and which has been, as it were, con- 
structed with a view to his own personal wants, tastes and convenience. 

We are compelled to constantly vary our forms and styles of 
painting and trimming, so that a carriage which has remained on hand 
only a year or two seems out of fashion, and becomes difficult to sell. 
Out of ten sales that take place, there is scarcely one of an entirely 
finished carriage that happens to unite every desideratum of the pur- 
chaser. Carriages in store are almost wholly used as types or models, 
whose forms, colors, trimmings, and even height and track are modi- 
fied to suit the amateur's fancy. 

In the foreign markets that we control, we find, almost to the same 
extent in this respect, the qualities and defects of the French pur- 
chaser. On the other hand, we hold that a numerous circle of foreigners 
and cosmopolitans who, having lived in France, have adopted our 
customs, and whose taste has been cultivated by a protracted stay in 
our midst, having returned home, become unconsciously our most 
valuable agents. 

With these conditions, it is easy to understand that the getting up of 
a stock of finished carriages in store, such as is carried by nearly all 
the carriage-builders in the United States, would, in France, lead to 
inevitable ruin, and that, consequently, the machines whose ingenuity 
we admire would be of no service to us, in the present state of our 
industry and habits. At most, perhaps, these mechanical processes 
could only be usefully employed in the manufacture of some of the 
accessories of carriage building, and more especially of wheels. 

In the United States, on the contrary, carriages are manufactured by 
the quantity, after a very limited number of models of various styles, 
which makes easy the application of mechanical processes, and quite 
possible the accumulation of a large stock on hand ; for this reason we 
everywhere saw machines taking the place of hand labor, and on the 
largest scale. 

American purchasers, with the exception of a few select ones 
who, having lived in Europe, have naturally become its customers, 
feel no repugnance to possessing a carriage similar to everybody 
else's carriage. For the greater number, a carriage is as yet but a 
means of transportation, whether for business or pleasure : they see 
and seek nothing else. We may add that, as a natural consequence, 



iS 

the United States have been able to easily control foreign markets, 
like that of Australia, for instance, which demand a considerable 
number of carriages built upon the same model. Would it be possible 
for us to compete with them for those markets, and to present our- 
selves therein after borrowing and appropriating their processes? 
This seems to us very difficult, and it must be a dangerous enterprise 
for those who would first attempt such a venture. It would be neces- 
sary at the very start, and even before being certain of an outlet, to 
organize on a colossal scale; it would be a long and perilous 
struggle, in which the first pioneers would have many chances of 
succumbing and reaping no other advantage than that of preparing the 
way for their successors ; and it is especially in France that, on the 
battle-field of commerce, one may exclaim : Vcr victis ! "Woe to the 
conquered ! " 

While the severity of our commercial legislation is a guarantee of 
security in business ; while it contributes in a great measure to enable 
our commerce to avoid, or to pass honorably through those crises 
under which foreign markets too often fall, it is unfortunately — we must 
acknowledge it — a check upon the developement not only of the spirit 
of adventure, but sometimes also of the spirit of initiation and enter- 
prise. Let us hasten to add that, in America, all the profits have not 
always been on the side of those great industrial organizations, however 
seductive they may seem at first sight ; a few years of dull times, such 
as now prevail in the United States, would be sufficient to prepare 
their ruin, if not to lead them fatally into it. But there, new comers 
establish themselves on the wrecks of those who preceded them, and 
industry marches on and progresses in the midst of alternate prosperity 
and disaster, and the trade itself as a whole is benefited by the labors 
and the enterprise of those who fall and are soon forgotten ; these are 
effects and consequences which neither our habits nor our legislation 
make us prone to accept. It is, therefore, only by adhering still 
more closely to the path we are now following that we can continue to 
struggle successfully and have some chance of further extending our 
territory, as we will further explain before closing. It is only by 
superior workmanship, assisted by all the refinements of French luxury 
and taste, — it is only by the elegance of the forms and by developing 
and applying to our industry all the distinctive qualities of French 
genius, that we may expect to retain the markets we now hold, and be 
able to open new ones. 

In the United States, where less than ten years ago no carriages were 
built save those peculiar to the country, manufacturers have already 
been compelled to divide their business into two parts. It is the 
importation of foreign carriages, and the necessity of opposing a dam 
to the rising flood, that has compelled American manufacturers to 
undertake the construction of European carriages. They can not, 
however, in manufacturing the latter, avail themselves of the rapid 



19 

mechanical means of which we have spoken : as a result, what a 
tremendous difference is at once seen in the cost prices ! and how 
easy it is to see that workmanship and variety of form have an over- 
whelming influence in this result ! 

A four-wheel top buggy, very well made, but manufactured in large 
quantities, sells in the United States for $250, or 1,250 francs ; we cer- 
tainly could not, in France, afford to sell the same carriage for less than 
2,200 francs : — a wide variation. But on the other hand, a coupe for 
two persons sells for $1,500, or 7,500 francs, whereas the same carriage 
sells in the very best Paris warerooms for only 3,800 francs, and may be 
landed in New-York, all expenses paid, for 6,250 francs. A landau on 
four elliptic springs sells in New-York for $2,200 or 11,000 francs ; it 
is only worth in Paris 5,200 francs, and maybe delivered in the United 
States for 8,500 francs. Competition is therefore not wholly impossi- 
ble. It is even probable that the number of our sales may be further 
extended in the market of the United States, as the public wealth 
and taste become more developed — like causes producing like effects, 
— and as pur rivals find themselves compelled to grapple with the 
same diffiulties that we have met, and have to take labor and work- 
manship into more immediate consideration, for the latter will continue 
at high prices in that country for many more years to come, owing to 
the growing demands on the part of the working class, and the almost 
boundless outlet for laborers in the vast American fields, 

May we not also entertain the legitimate expectation that the same 
conditions may occur in other markets which are at the present time 
closed against us, and that there too the increase in luxury, comfort, 
and good taste is already preparing for us new customers for the 
future ? But such results will not be reached — and we can not 
emphasize too prominently this point — without bestowing the utmost 
care upon our workmanship, and improving it still further, if possible ; 
for the progress realized in the United States is considerable, and 
almost alarming. Everything is there brought into play to insure 
success. American manufacturers have no hesitation in copying our 
forms, and procuring from us at any cost our magnificent landau hides, 
our morocco, our elegant articles for inside trimming, etc. 

We must acknowledge that the imitation is perfect, and, from perfect 
imitation to creation itself, there is but a single step. 

M. GUIET. 




LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 

021 470 340 ^ 



